


Heartlines

by nirroca



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Queer Cassandra Pentaghast
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-24
Updated: 2016-10-24
Packaged: 2018-08-24 09:54:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8367904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nirroca/pseuds/nirroca
Summary: Written as a gift for Spectre_Tabris. Kyra thinks about her relationship with Cassandra and ends up making a choice.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [spectre_tabris](https://archiveofourown.org/users/spectre_tabris/gifts).
  * Inspired by [hit me double hard](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5927409) by [spectre_tabris](https://archiveofourown.org/users/spectre_tabris/pseuds/spectre_tabris). 



It amazes her how quickly they fall into a state of comfortable intimacy, considering how long the realisation of their feelings took coming to light. Be it in the way that Cassandra openly touches her without hesitation, or the way that she does too, because despite having officially been in a relationship for several months now, she still sometimes has trouble believing that this is really real. That she can touch and taste Cassandra, just because she wants to, and, more importantly, because Cassandra  _ lets _ her is still something that amazes her and leaves her feeling slightly giddy at times.

  
  
  


If anyone were to find out about it, Cassandra would vehemently deny it (which somehow makes it all the more pleasing to Kyra, to be one of the only people that Cassandra trusts enough to feel comfortable showing this side of herself too), but despite her outwardly brusque personality, she was, in fact, a tender and attentive partner with a strong inclination for physical closeness and intimacy. Be it in the offhand way that she always finds a way to touch Kyra, even just in passing, or whilst lazing around in their rare moments of spare time together. What surprises Kyra the most to learn is Cassandra's love of snuggling, or more specifically, her preference for being the ‘little spoon' whenever they share a bed together. And as much as she enjoys being held in Cassandra's strong embrace (ever since she admitted her attraction to Cassandra's well-defined arms, she could swear they somehow started getting  _ more _ definition) be it laying on the couch watching god knows what on television or after an amorous round of lovemaking, she finds that she enjoys it just as much waking up on one of the increasingly more common mornings to find that in their sleep they've shifted positions so that Cassandra has worked her way to (usually) have one of her arms possessively claiming her waist and her head tucked into the juncture of where her shoulder and collarbone connect, with Kyra usually having tangled her legs with hers and one of her arms claiming Cassandra's upper torso.

 

The first time this happens it comes as a shock. Not because she wasn't expecting it, but because after a late night of half successful assignment work, she went to bed sometime in the early morning  _ on her own _ . When she awakens some time in the mid-morning, it's with a contented feeling of warmth and comfort, not really found in her small apartment considering she's usually the only one in it. It takes a while for her sleep-addled brain to process what is happening, but when it does, she scrambles into action and is on the other side of the bed in an instant, sitting up and looking around the room to take stock of her surroundings in a mild panic. It's not until she notices the clothes that aren't hers draped on the pegs on the back of her door and the bleary-eyed, dark haired woman looking at her in confusion that she calms down from her initial panic since the first few moments of her waking seconds ago, and flops back down onto the pillows partly hiding her face in embarrassment.

 

"Well that was embarrassing," Kyra mumbles to herself, but still loud enough for Cassandra to hear.

 

"I must apologise. I finished up later than I anticipated with some case work at the office and didn't feel like being alone, so I didn't think you would mind if I used the key you gave me to let myself in. I was going to sleep on the couch, but I poked my head to check in on you, and well, you just looked so peaceful and we haven't seen each other for almost a week, with me working on this new case and you having so much coursework to-"   

 

Kyra closes the distance between them and silences Cassandra's nervous rambling with her lips on hers, and pulls away chuckling throatily.

 

"Cass. It's fine. Just a little bit of a shock really, and  _ I've missed you too. _ "

 

She punctuates this remark by cupping Cassandra's cheek gently and placing another lingering kiss on her lips.

 

"Now come here, it's still early enough to sleep for a little while longer, it is Saturday after all," Kyra says, whilst shuffling into a more comfortable position, where Cassandra has buried her head back into the crook of her neck, humming in contented agreement and pressing a sleepy kiss to Kyra's collarbone. Kyra sighs and runs her hands through Cassandra's short soft hair, tracing her fingers along her crown braid to find the point where it is pinned to the rest of her hair and releasing it. She feels Cassandra's sigh against her neck and her wrap her arm around her waist and she could swear a half mumbled "I love you" and soon follows Cassandra back into unconsciousness.         

 

After this, waking to find Cassandra in her bed is no longer a rare occurrence. And after being given a key to Cassandra's house, it becomes a relatively even split of each of them staying with the other depending on what's going on with their schedules. After the resolution of the case that Cassandra was working on a few weeks prior her working hours have settled back to something that closely resembles normal, whereas Kyra seems to find herself buried in assignment work with (what feels like) no near end in sight. 

  
  
  


Naturally, Cassandra's protective instincts kick in when she sees the toll the extra workload is taking on her lover and Kyra finds herself flustered at the ways in which Cassandra finds to take care of her, be it in the form of groceries and home-cooked meals appearing in her fridge, to deliveries being made to her office on campus by confused delivery boys. Her most notable intervention (and also what proved to be the first of many) though would have had to have been late one night still typing up the world's longest lab report  in her paper-strewn office and hearing a soft tapping at her door. Looking around the room confused and thinking that her caffeine-addled brain is playing tricks on her, she shrugs to herself ignoring it and resumes typing (she promises herself 2 more pages, but she knows that's a lie, even if one page is mostly tables of results data which thankfully is a copy paste job because at least that's already finished). The next time the knocking comes it's slightly more insistent and actually does grab her attention. Rising slowly on stiff legs she makes her way over to open her door and finds herself (confusedly) with a face full of dress shirt, blinking owlishly in the bright light of the corridor after being in her unlit office for so long. It takes longer than it should have for her to realise that those crossed arms and that chest belong to Cassandra and that the only reason she would be here in person at such an odd hour was if she was worried about her. Sighing Kyra rests her head on the edge of her door and asks drowsily, "Hey Cass. What's wrong?" Stepping back and opening the door further she invites Cassandra in wordlessly, knowing that she would follow as she makes her way back to her desk.

 

"What’s wrong?" The thickness of Cassandra's accent betrays her irritation. "I tried calling you and you didn't pick up or respond to any of my messages this afternoon, and when you didn't show at The Fade at our usual time I tried to get a hold of you again and when I couldn't I thought something might have actually happened to you, but now I see, that it appears you just got caught up in your work?" Cassandra finished with a soft smirk, deflating as she takes in the paper trap that is Kyra's desk and the sideways view of her girlfriend's backside just sticking up over the top of it.

 

Clumsily digging through her bag which had been kicked under her desk, Kyra finally locates her phone somewhere near the bottom, and past the low battery warning she sees 3 missed calls and several texts from Cassandra and Dorian on her lock screen and sighing, tosses her phone on top of a teetering pile of notes somewhere near where she last saw her mouse, stretching to her full height feeling a sense of relief at the blood flow returning to parts of her stiff body that have been in the same position at her desk for too long. 

 

"I'm so sorry, Cass. I told myself that I would just do a little bit more work on this and then go because we haven't had a Friday night to ourselves for weeks and then everything just started making sense and I was on a roll and well, now you're here, and it's after 11, and you're worried, and I know you know I hate it when I do that and now I'm rambling aren't I. Sorry?" Kyra finishes, looking sheepish and dry wrings her hands together, which probably isn't helped by what she knows is a bird’s nest for hair and her disheveled appearance.

 

Cassandra just looks at her exasperatedly and makes her way across the small space to Kyra and draws her into her embrace placing a chaste kiss on the top of her head

 

"Come on. Grab your things I'm taking you home to clean up and  _ rest, _ " Cassandra says, placing extra emphasis on the last word and punctuating it with a pointed look that makes Kyra go weak at the knees and removes all thought of argument from her mind.

 

"Fine," Kyra half-heartedly grumbles at Cassandra who has made her way back over to the door, as she grabs everything that she needs from her desk and shoves it in her bag, hoping she hasn't overlooked anything because she doesn't want to have to come back here until her next class on Tuesday, not that she's even sure that Cassandra would allow it.  

 

"Alright, let's go," she says as she grabs her keys from the side pocket of her bag after they've made their way out the door and locks it. They walk hand in hand in a comfortable silence out of the building Kyra's office is located in and across campus to where Cassandra has parked her car. After stowing her things in the back seat with Cassandra's work briefcase, Kyra flops comfortably into the passenger seat, buckling up and resting her head against the headrest and humming in contentment at the sheer comfort of the car seat after spending hours sitting in her increasingly uncomfortable desk chair in her office, closing her eyes as Cassandra starts to drive away.

 

It takes her a few minutes to realise that the car ride is taking slightly longer than the usual trip back to her apartment and upon blearily taking in her surroundings through half open eyes  she realises it's because they're going in the direction of Cassandra's house, which is in the opposite direction of her own.

 

"Good," Kyra absently mumbles without thinking.

 

"What?" Cassandra asks amused, taking her eyes off the road momentarily to look across at Kyra.

 

"I like your bed better than mine. It's a king. And fluffier. And there's more room for activities.  And I like those sheets you have. And the canopy."

 

Cassandra chuckles at Kyra's tired rambling and (was that a flirty tone? Wait, did she sound nervous? Can you be flirty and nervous? Flirvous? Pay attention, Kyra) simply states, "Well you know, it could be your bed too if you wanted."

 

It takes a full ten seconds for Kyra to process what Cassandra has just said and by this point they've pulled up in the driveway out the front of Cassandra's and are waiting for the garage door to open so they can park inside. She sits up and turns to look at Cassandra who is looking at her nervously with a white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel the only thing betraying the cool look of impassivity on her face, waiting for some kind of response.

 

"Are you asking me to move in with you?"

"I'd hoped to do this differently. "

 

They both start speaking at the same time, and then break off abruptly.

 

"Y-yes? I think I am?" Cassandra stammers tentatively, slowly pulling the car into the garage and switching off the ignition and unbuckling her seatbelt to avoid eye contact with Kyra for a little bit longer.  "I mean, you don't have to if you don't want to, or when you're ready we can talk about it again, or -" she trails off nervously. 

 

Before Cassandra's hand can make a full retreat Kyra leans across the console and grabs it, twining her fingers with hers and rubbing her thumb in a circular motion across her palm, because she is in no way above using Cassandra's weaknesses against her to help calm her down.

 

"Hey. Cass. Look at me."  

 

Cassandra slowly draws her gaze up from their joined hands and nervously makes eye contact with Kyra.

 

"I want you to know that my answer isn't no, but I need to think about it. It just caught me off guard is all," she finished drawing their entwined palms towards her and places a kiss on the back of Cassandra's hand. "Who knew you were so smooth though? That was excellent," she says, grinning crookedly and breaking the tension that had developed between the pair, and lets go of her hand, unbuckling to exit the car and grab her things from the back seat.     

 

Cassandra eyes her exasperatedly over the top of the car as she too grabs her own bag from the backseat and turns to make her way inside, looking a lot more relieved than she was two minutes ago even if she's trying to hide it.

 

"Yes, well, maybe you're a bad influence. Hurry up, let's get you something to eat before we get you cleaned up and ready for bed," Cassandra answers as she grabs Kyra's bag from her and makes a small detour to the spare room that has been converted to a home office for Cassandra to stow it away in there with her own. "And don't think I'm going to let you in there until I know you've had at  _ least _ 8 hours of good sleep." She punctuates with a kiss to Kyra's temple after giving her a pointed ‘don't argue with me’ look as she closes the door. 

 

"Just sleep?" Kyra asks with a mischievous pout, to which Cassandra's only response is her trademark noise of disgust and an eye roll as she walks off down the hall towards the kitchen. Kyra follows at a slight distance unashamedly admiring the strong silhouette of her lover from behind. As if she knows what Kyra's doing Cassandra adds an extra sway to her step and Kyra responds with laughter and quickens her pace to catch up with her, wrapping her arms around Cassandra's waist, hugging her from behind as they collide softly with their combined forward momentum in the doorway of the kitchen. Cassandra twines her hands with hers as they amble awkwardly into the room, both relishing in the comfort of the physical closeness with each other after days without seeing each other. Kyra sighs and resting her forehead on Cassandra's back kisses her between the shoulder blades through the still crisp cotton of her fitted dress shirt, humming contentedly as she inhales a deep breath, filling her senses with the heady scent that is distinctly  _ Cassandra _ .

 

"Have I told you how much I love you lately, Cass?"

 

"No, but I'm open to hearing more about it," Cassandra says whilst untangling her arms from Kyra's and stepping away from her. "Now  _ sit. _ " She points to the breakfast bar and makes her way over to the fridge and starts pulling out items to make something for them both to eat.

 

As Kyra sits at the breakfast bar watching Cassandra work around the kitchen she lapses into a daydream in which she imagines them falling into a similar routine years into their future, be it them cuddled up on the couch watching something together, or talking about their day with Cassandra's head in her lap as Kyra's nimble fingers try to soothe the stress of the day away from her face, or even working away in a companionable silence in their home office. As much as it might have shocked her at the initial thought, she would definitely be comfortable coming home to and sharing a living space with Cassandra on a permanent basis. She must have zoned out for longer than she realised because the next thing she knows Cassandra is putting a plate of food in front of her and taking the seat next to her with her eyebrow arched in silent question.

 

"Nothing," she says absently, impaling cherry tomatoes onto her fork before putting them in her mouth and chewing deliberately, swallowing before making eye contact with Cassandra. "Just thinking about how lucky I am to have you."

 

"That's a strange definition of  _ nothing _ you have there," Cassandra says with a hint of warmth crinkling the corners of her eyes and leaning closer to bump her shoulder against hers.

 

"You know what I mean," Kyra starts with a sigh, carding her hand through her hair, sweeping  some of her unruly curls away from her face. "You know, before you and Dorian came into my life I was kind of just coasting through aimlessly, not really bothering with anything beyond my basic needs because I didn't think there was any point to it anymore. Now with you I feel like I have things to look forward to, things that I want to do with you, which is something I haven't really had since I lost Rion," she says as she drums the fingers of her gloved hand on the bench between them. She stops when Cassandra reaches over with a tender look on her face to entangle her fingers with hers, giving her hand a soft squeeze.

 

"I understand," is all Cassandra needs to say. 

 

They spend the next little while finishing their meal and cleaning up in a comfortable silence, their time spent washing up side by side at the sink passed with hip bumps and soft laughter, with the occasional stolen kiss. Kyra finally starts to feel the stress and fatigue of her sleepless nights catching up with her and she is relieved when she feels Cassandra take her hand and guide her upstairs and into the ensuite attached to her bedroom. She replies in the negative when asked if she wants to get cleaned up on her own and finds herself being gently washed down by Cassandra with a surprising amount of tenderness and a peppering of stray kisses that she suspects no one would believe her about if she ever spoke of it, not that she would because Kyra very much enjoys being the sole beneficiary of Cassandra's particular brand of physical intimacy. 

 

It is with a soft sigh that she lets Cassandra draw her under the spray of water to rinse the soap off of both of their bodies and to start wetting her hair in preparation of washing it. Knowing her lover’s unspoken fondness for her hair she follows Cassandra's lead wordlessly, ultimately enjoying her ministrations as much as Cassandra likes having any excuse to play with Kyra's hair. Which, ever since Cassandra came home one day when Kyra was spending the night with oversized bottles of salon quality hair products with the reasoning that "her hair needed proper hydration and maintenance to keep it manageable," happened with increasing frequency. After Cassandra has sluiced the last of the product out of her hair Kyra turns to draw her face down to her own and they spend the next few minutes sharing languid open mouthed kisses under the spray of the hot water which leave Cassandra groaning in such a way that if she wasn't so exhausted, Kyra would take full advantage of, and draw out more of the noises she is so fond of Cassandra making in their most intimate moments alone together. But all she can think of is the comfort of the bed mere meters from her person and silently promises herself that she will bring this back up later, but right now it is time for sleep and as much she would like to take things further with Cassandra, the idea of falling asleep in her arms is higher up on list of " _ Things Kyra Lavellan would like to do with Cassandra Pentaghast _ " right now. She pulls away reluctantly, feeling the slightly swollen pout of Cassandra's full lips, as she briefly presses one last soft kiss to her lips before pulling away completely to turn off the flow of water.

 

"I'm sorry," Kyra starts as they step out of the shower together, taking the towels Cassandra offers to her and starts drying herself after bundling her long thick hair up into a towel to prevent drying from becoming an impossible task. "I know I shouldn't start things I can't finish, but I didn't realise how utterly exhausted I am right now."

 

"It's fine," Cassandra states, her eyes lingering on her half covered form as she hangs her damp towel up on the rack on the wall. "You keep drying up and I'll go get you something to wear," she calls over her shoulder giving Kyra a full view of her well-shaped backside as she leaves the room, knowing full well just how fond Kyra was of certain parts of her anatomy. 

 

"That is totally not fair!" Kyra calls out of the bathroom exasperatedly as she finishes toweling off her back before she too hangs her towel up next to Cassandra's. Though as much as she likes to feign protest, Kyra is secretly thrilled whenever Cassandra allows her more playful and flirtatious nature to shine, because six months ago she would have never let herself imagine what it would be like, let alone being on the receiving end of it on a regular basis. Grabbing a pot of moisturiser from under the sink she mumbles to herself, "two can play that game," and starts rubbing it into the skin on her legs in a slow and deliberate manner because she knows she won't be done by the time Cassandra makes it back into the room, which should be just about any second now. 

 

"It doesn't matter anyway, there's always tomorrow morning after I know you've had a decent night’s slee-" Cassandra stops partway through the end of her sentence flushing at the sight before her in the bathroom. Mumbling a quick "Touche" she hands Kyra one of her favourite oversized button up shirts (Cassandra would be lying if she said that she didn't find the sight of Kyra's small elven stature being dwarfed by her clothes both endearing and highly attractive) and boosts herself to sit up on the vanity to watch Kyra finish dressing. When she has, she gestures for Kyra to come over to her and steers her into the cradle of her open thighs and starts to dry what hasn't been soaked up by the towel her hair has been wrapped up in. In a few short minutes Cassandra's deft fingers have removed most of the tangles from her hair and rubbed in some kind of leave-in conditioner that Kyra doesn't know the name of but loves the smell of (and she suspects Cassandra does too, because she bought it after all) . Cassandra quickly plaits it and secures it with one of the many hair ties Kyra has managed to leave in almost all of the rooms in the house. 

 

"C'mon, let's get you to bed, love," Cassandra says as she gently pushes Kyra forward so she can slide down off the bench behind her, with a slightly muffled edge to her voice betraying her own exhaustion. They slowly make their way into to bedroom and Kyra whines when she finally takes in the fact the the only thing Cassandra is wearing is an oversized t-shirt which does nothing to distract her from the sight of her strong muscular legs, but is silenced after a (smug) pointed look from Cassandra. They pull back the covers without even bothering to work out who takes what side, knowing that they're only going end up tangled up together in the middle, but it comes as a surprise to Cassandra when before they can settle into their usual sleeping positions Kyra has latched on to her, tangling their legs together and wriggling her way into her side as close as she physically can. 

 

Kyra feels the chuckle rumble through Cassandra's chest as she adjusts herself into a more comfortable position and wraps an arm around her. "You must be tired," Cassandra idly questions as she starts rubbing soft lazy circles in the middle of Kyra's back. "H'am" comes Kyra's muffled reply from Cassandra's collarbone. Feeling Cassandra relax and place one last kiss to the top of her head before yawning and finishing with a slightly breathless "Love you" before settling beside her. Kyra yawns and mumbles a sleepy "Love you, too" in return before finally succumbing to sleep in the security of Cassandra's embrace. 

  
  
  


She wakes the next morning to soft post-dawn light filtering its way through the partly closed curtains, and a feeling of warm contentment tingling throughout her body. Stretching felinely she feels the warmth radiating from the solid mass that is Cassandra close beside her (Kyra has yet to discover Cassandra’s secret to always being so warm), and can feel the hand on her waist that has crept underneath her shirt and is rubbing lazy circles with its thumb near her navel. Kyra hums in drowsy approval and opens her eyes to find Cassandra laying propped up on her side watching Kyra with a warm look of fondness on her face.

 

"How long have you been awake?" Kyra asks as she shuffles towards Cassandra and snatches a good morning kiss.

 

"Long enough to enjoy the view," Cassandra murmurs, not taking her eyes off of Kyra's lips as she leans back in to claim them with a more demanding intent, smoothly angling herself over Kyra in the process, coming to rest in the cradle of her open thighs. Kyra can feel herself getting swept away under Cassandra's determined ministrations and the warmth of her body pressed up so closely to hers, and with great reluctance breaks the kiss and pulls away, which is met with a throaty whine of disappointment and a questioning look from Cassandra.

 

"I need to pee," Kyra states breathlessly, blushing slightly.  

 

"Ah. Sorry," Cassandra responds as she lifts herself up (Kyra suspects that the flexing is intentional) enough so that Kyra can shuffle out from underneath her and make her way to the bathroom. After relieving herself and washing her hands, Kyra eyes herself in the mirror whilst brushing her teeth and does a double take at the person being reflected back at her. Her hair, still tamed by the plait that Cassandra wrangled it into the night before, is the healthiest she has ever seen it. The permanent bags under her eyes, whilst still there, are not as prominent as they once were; the angle of her cheekbones no longer as sharp either, which she attributes to Cassandra's need to make sure she is looking after herself properly and ensuring that Kyra has more daily meals that consist of something  _ other _ than a strong coffee, and actually sleeps, even if Cassandra sometimes has to use various methods of mutually beneficial persuasion to get Kyra relaxed and in bed in the first place. The thing about her appearance that strikes Kyra the most is how  _ happy _ she looks. Be it in the soft rose in her cheek or the brightness in her eyes that she's never really noticed before. Everything about her relationship with Cassandra makes her happier than she has ever been before and her only regrets is that she will never have the opportunity to introduce Cassandra to her brother (he would have loved her, she's sure of it) and the fact that she never said anything about her feelings  _ sooner _ , knowing now with the benefit of hindsight and after an early morning confession from Cassandra during a long heartfelt talk they had back when their relationship was still brand new, how long they had mutually been pining after each other. Finishing up drying her face and hands on a towel, she ghosts her fingers over her kiss-swollen lips and exits the bathroom, softly smiling to herself. 

 

She must have been in there longer than she realised because Cassandra is returning from the hall and closing the door behind her as best as she can with her foot because she has two cups of coffee in her hands.

 

"I figured I may as well relieve myself as well, and thought that you wouldn't mind a pick me up," she starts, handing a cup over to Kyra. "And as much I like to see you in nothing but my shirts" - the hungry look she gives Kyra over her coffee as she takes a deep sip says enough - "I also put our clothes in the wash because I figured you might like to wear something more,  _ appropriate _ when you eventually leave," Cassandra finishes with a smirk.

 

"Cassandra,  _ ma vhenan _ , that almost sounds like a challenge," Kyra throatily murmurs as she drains the last of her coffee, placing it on the dresser and then seats herself on the edge of the end of the bed, so her short legs can still touch the ground. Cassandra mirrors her actions and makes her way over to the bed to tower over Kyra, who is forced to lean back onto her elbows to maintain eye contact, which judging from the look of satisfaction on Cassandra's face, was exactly what she wanted her to do because the next thing Kyra knows Cassandra is leaning right over the top of her, propped up on her arms as dark desire filled eyes flick between her eyes and her lips. She gestures for Kyra to move up the bed towards the pillows, and she does so, with Cassandra crawling along after her, stopping only when she has resumed her earlier position cradled between Kyra's legs, resting on her elbows above her so she doesn't crush Kyra with the entirety of her body weight. "Kyra,  _ dearest _ , maybe it is," Cassandra husks before reclaiming Kyra's lips and ending all conversation for the rest of the morning. 

  
  
  
  
  


Cassandra is sleeping lightly next to her as Kyra watches her fondly, still basking in the glow of their earlier coupling and chuckling to herself at the large, angry mark she has managed to leave on the outer edge of Cassandra's collarbone. At least she can still cover it with her shirts at work, Kyra thinks to herself, still cringing at Cassandra's reaction to the time Kyra got carried away and left a rather visible mark on her neck during an overly passionate encounter trying to keep quiet with Cullen sleeping only a few doors down the hall. Though, Cassandra did manage to get her back not long after with a rather large bite in a particularly tender spot on the apex of her thigh, which ultimately worked to both of their favours because it did little more than leave Kyra feeling aroused at the memory of how it actually got there every time she brushed the tender skin or thought of it. 

 

When they first became physically intimate, Kyra was usually the one to instigate everything, mostly down to Cassandra's inexperience, and Kyra also suspected because she relished being able to surrender control over to someone she trusted completely in such an intimate context. Despite Kyra's limited amount of experience, having only ever had a few different partners before Cassandra, they were both satisfied with each other in all things physical intimacy related. Over the course of their relationship so far, and as Cassandra has grown more comfortable with her newfound sexuality, much to Kyra's delight, Cassandra has become a lot more confident and dominating in the bedroom, continually surprising Kyra with new ways to tease and drive her over the edge (she suspects advice from Leliana and Josephine may be the source for some of this newfound confidence and techniques, not that she's complaining, Leliana still terrifies her after all) with little more than her tongue and calloused fingers and today's adventures were no exception. Shivering pleasantly at the memory, Kyra's musings are interrupted by the grumbling of her stomach bringing to her attention to just how hungry she is. Sighing, she places a soft kiss to the corner of Cassandra's mouth before leaving the bed to find something appropriate for her to wear downstairs to find something to eat. She settles on a pair of gym shorts and a shirt she finds in Cassandra's pile of clean washing she hasn't put away yet and makes her way out of the room, closing the door quietly behind her on the way out. 

 

After fixing herself a sandwich and a glass of water she quickly eats at the breakfast bar and after rinsing her plate off in the sink, puts it in the dishwasher. Hearing no one else in the house she figures Cullen must be out. Grabbing her glass she makes her way down to the study to resume her work on her lab report from the night before. Going through her bag she pulls out her laptop and notes that are essential and settles herself comfortably at Cassandra's desk to finish her work. Maybe it's the combined benefit of a good night sleep and good sex that has helped clear her mind, but she finds herself finishing her report with ease and just as she putting the finishing touches on her references list so she can save the document safely to her Dropbox account as backup, she hears the door open quietly as Cassandra slips silently into the room with a fleeting look of relief crossing her face as Kyra glances up to flash her a small smile and hold her hand up briefly to let her know she'll be with her in a minute as Cassandra flops unceremoniously onto the loveseat near the bookshelf in the corner. Watching the progress bar hit one hundred percent she smiles triumphantly, powering down her laptop and closing it whilst standing up and stretching. "Done!" she proudly declares as she crosses the room to join Cassandra on the loveseat. "What do you want to do for the rest of the afternoon?"

 

"You let me sleep?" Cassandra asks with a slight pout.

 

"Yes. You looked like you needed it after this mornings  _ activities, _ " Kyra replies with a mischievous grin to which Cassandra replies with her signature noise of disgust. "I dunno, do you want to get something to eat and watch crappy tv before we have leave for your class tonight?"

 

"Pizza?" Cassandra asks hopefully, her one real indulgence in her otherwise strictly healthy diet. (Maintaining her physique takes effort, and Kyra isn't about to complain about it anytime soon, because selfishly, she is quite fond of the results)

 

"Pizza," Kyra agrees with a knowing smile. "You order the usual, I'll set up the Netflix." 

 

They agree as they both get up and make their way out to the living area to complete their plan. Kyra is still flicking through Netflix when the delivery arrives and Cassandra places the boxes on the coffee table along with plates, napkins and two bottles of chilled water (much to Dorian's delight, Cassandra has managed to break Kyra's habit of eating straight from the carton over the short course of their relationship) and seats herself next to Kyra on the lounge, cracking open the boxes, taking out a few slices, putting them on a plate, handing it to Kyra as she continues to scroll through the never ending list of shows on the Netflix homepage.

 

"Ugh, I can't believe how many documentaries and one star movies you watch on here," she complains playfully to Cassandra as she thinks she has finally found something for them to watch that won't lead to them making out on the couch like horny teenagers, thinking back to the awkward encounter they had with Cullen coming home to find them in a compromising position a few weeks prior. The poor man still couldn't be in the same room with them both without blushing profusely.

 

"You know I don't actually watch them. I just like them for the background noise when I'm working. And most of the terrible one-star choices are  _ yours _ if I remember correctly," Cassandra begins to protest, but sighs when she sees the playful look on Kyra's face right as she takes a large bite out of her slice of pizza. "You're impossible," she says shaking her head fondly as she settles back with her own slices of pizza and starts eating, watching Kyra finally settle on "Brooklyn 99," a show that she has spoken about before but Cassandra has never gotten around to watching.

 

They finish off the pizzas between them and are almost six episodes in when Cullen comes home, poking his head into the lounge in greeting before retreating upstairs to his room to get some what looks like much-needed rest, judging by his disheveled appearance. They watch two more episodes before they realise that it's time for them to get ready if they want to stop by Kyra's apartment for a change of clothes and still be early enough to help Bull with setting up for their evening class. Cassandra tells Kyra to meet her upstairs whilst she stops to grab her clothes from the laundry, and by the time she returns, Kyra is halfway through her shower which Cassandra wastes no time joining her in. They leave the house with enough time for them to stop at Kyra's apartment to change and grab some extra clothes (Kyra grabs more than she needs, with every intention of leaving most of them somewhere in Cassandra's closet) and only be a few minutes late in meeting Bull. The class goes off without incident, excluding Sera's usual well-meaning teasing about Kyra and Cassandra's "mooney faces." 

 

In the companionable silence on the drive home, Kyra is slightly startled out of her thoughts when Cassandra says in a tone that is more her thinking out aloud than actually starting a conversation, "It's uncanny how that show is both inaccurate and accurate about days at the precinct," to which Kyra only responds with a hum of distracted agreement.

 

The pair wash up again, tired from the day's exertions, and find themselves in bed asleep not long after.

 

They spend Sunday indulging in comfortably lazing around the house eating and watching more Netflix in what seems to be a rare uninterrupted weekend for Cassandra, and if she has noticed how distracted Kyra is by her thoughts she doesn't say anything about it because Cassandra ultimately knows that Kyra will come to her for help either when she needs it or is ready to ask for it.      

 

They part the next morning with a lingering kiss outside Kyra's apartment building as Cassandra drops her off on her way to work and drives off with a promise to call her when she gets home later that night. Kyra makes her way upstairs and after dropping her things on the dining room table of her small apartment she flops facedown onto the couch ready to have a serious and undistracted "Pros and Cons" session with herself about the idea of living with Cassandra on a permanent basis, after all she likes to fall back on what she knows when facing a problem she can't immediately solve, and what better way than with facts and figures?

 

It really doesn't take her long to come to a decision (not that it really was a hard one for her to make in the end) and she spends the rest of her afternoon working out what assessment needs completing when in the coming weeks and topics that need to be covered in her upcoming lab classes. So engrossed in her work that it takes her a few seconds to realise that that insistent noise coming from the direction of her table is actually her phone, and that she should probably answer it because looking at the time on the clock on the wall, it's probably Cassandra. She scrambles across the room but isn't fast enough to grab her phone before it rings out on her. Her lock screen confirms that it was Cassandra, and that this is the third missed call she's had from her within a 15 minute period. Kyra hits the redial button quickly to return Cassandra's call. 

 

Cassandra picks up on the second ring and by the sounds of the rustling she can hear in the background has her on speaker, because the voice that calls out, "Hang on a second I'm just getting changed!" isn't as clear as usual, and when it is, Cassandra is slightly breathless as if she hurried to finish up what she was doing as quickly as possible.

 

"Hey.”

 

"Nice to know I don't have to actually be there to leave you breathless," Kyra teases more lightheartedly than she actually feels, given how her thoughts were occupied that day.

 

Cassandra responds with a groan so Kyra continues with a soft laugh and a more appropriate, "How was your day, Cass?" which leads to a small recap of the highlights of her working day. When the conversation turns to what Kyra got up to she hesitates, but then continues on anyway, knowing that this is  _ Cassandra _ and that there really isn't anything she can't tell her.

"Not a lot. Worked out what work I have left to do and what I need to cover in my labs for the rest of the semester. Did some soul searching. Actually, there's something I wanted to discuss with you when you're not too busy."

 

This statement is met with a hum of curiosity from Cassandra, who replies with, "Well, I'm just about to make some dinner now, and I have enough for two if you want to join me?"

 

Kyra agrees to her proposition, and knowing that she doesn't have long until Cassandra arrives to pick her up, locates the biggest bag that she can find and quickly shoves as many clothes and other necessities into it as she can. Satisfied with the amount she has, she returns to her living room and grabs all of the work and books that she needs and shoves it into both of her bags, double checking when she's finished that she hasn't overlooked anything either out here or in her bedroom. She stops to grab the framed photograph of her brother from her nightstand and tucks it securely into one of the pockets of her work bag. Satisfied with what she has, she hauls the overstuffed bags onto her shoulders and makes her way out the door, locking it behind her and stowing her keys back into their usual pocket in her bag. She takes a deep breath to calm herself as she walks towards the exit, to wait on the kerb for Cassandra, and the impending important conversation Kyra needs to have in her immediate future.    

  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> This is the first time I've written something other than an academic essay so go easy on me yeah?
> 
> Written as a surprise gift for Spectre_Tabris' recent birthday.


End file.
